So, we're in the tough month of January. Winter all around, though we're too low for snow. It is certainly colder than I'm used to, and the last three weeks have been especially telling in that regard. As a SoCal son I'm used to "cold" being 60 degrees, not 45 during the middle of the day. What's made it worse has been the constant overcast: three weeks of grey skies with nary a breeze to blow things out. It was as if the weather in the delta area simply stopped and we got stuck with the overcast. Imagine that, weather systems just stalling for three weeks. This past Saturday I took matters into my own hands and drove up into the foothills, to Jackson, and you wouldn't believe the difference. Right at 2000 feet the fog and clouds thinned out and I was greeted with brilliant, perfectly clear blue skies. After a little more driving I stopped at a local park that happened to have a short walking trail with an overlook back to the west. The view was fascinating and the valley's cloud cover was like a broad white blanket. I dreaded going back down the hill into that, so I procrastinated by walking all around Jackson's main antique/shopping district. Aside from the many antique stores there's a huge used book store (two storeys) with a great California section. I resisted buying anything this time, but look forward to coming back.

Anyway, the point of this entry is to note that today, like a college student who's drunk waaaay too much and would feel a whole lot better after a good vomit, the clouds let loose with a good rainfall for most of the afternoon and then began to clear. Lo! Finally! Sunshine! Sunshine in the living room! And tonight, as I waited for R3's choral concert to begin, I saw the moon. And the stars. What a feeling.